Our Generation.

Before I start this is NOT about religion neither am I trying to promote it or force anything upon any of you.

Please read on because I feel that this content is stuff that many of todays youth would like you to hear!

Im 19 years old and I recently I heard a podcast from my Church about what todays youth think about our generation and it got me thinking. I was so surprised to hear what the youth had to say and although this blog isnt going to be about God and Christianity (because I dont want to push religion or anything) I do think its important that their views are shared to a wider community than just those who attended that sermon.
So here goes..
The first question that was asked was about what todays youth THOUGHT about our generation and the response was somewhat shocking. Replies such as it being BROKEN and LOST were thrown about a lot. The general consensus was that it had been stereotyped into being 'disrespectful' and 'lazy' and that it was mainly fueled by money. The youth felt that a lot of the time they were pressurised by the media into what they had to look like and how they had to act and that the education system was just a constant turmoil of  "YOU MUST PASS AND GO TO UNI AND EARN LOTS OF MONEY" and that if they didnt do that then they were considered a failure.
One girl felt that our generation had so much potential but just didnt have the 'get-up-and-go' to fulfill themselves.

I must admit that these statements shocked me quite a bit but a  lot of it made sense!
I decided to investigate a little further into this idea and I came to the conclusion that this turmoil of generations being stereotyped had been going on for longer than we had first expected. A quote stating that the youth of 'today' were disrespectful was dated 8th Century BC and that led me to believe that perhaps whatever generation you come from, the generation previous to you will always think that you are a disappointment and that their way of living/being brought up was the correct way?
Anyway, I had a real good think about what I thought about our generation and came to the conclusion that actually the term 'our generation' is a massive generalisation and how can I possibly comment on everyone? But if I were to stereotype Id say that our generation is one of incredible mistrust and feels as though they must protect themselves. The media has made it very hard to feel satisfied in one's body or situation and therefore wherever we are and whatever we're doing, we're always unhappy with what we have. There is a huge pressure on having to earn money and be successful however, with the sky-high unemployment figures and the increasing difficulty to actually earn a comfortable living some youth are giving up hope. Its this 'why bother' attitude on which the stereotypical youth is derived from.
One of the most important things I believe is how you, yourself, look at todays youth because essentially there is two ways of doing so.
Yes, you can focuss on those without manners and have no drive OR you could find those who want to try their hardest to succeed and have a passion to change not only their stereotype but also help others.
In todays world it is very hard to focus on the positive things but maybe thats what we're doing wrong. We focus so much on everything thats going wrong that we forget to take time to notice the good.
Please dont think that I am trying to forcde Christianity upon anyone nor am I saying that Christian youth are the only ones out there who defy the typical stereotype.
If you read all the way to this point then thank you and Im sorry if I went on a little, I just felt that this was important.